Batman #71

The Fall and the Fallen Part 2

Tom King Writer
Mikel Janin & Jorge Fornes Artists
Jordie Bellaire Colorist
Clayton Cowles Letterer
Andy Kubert & Brad Anderson Cover
Frank Cho & Sabine Rich Variant Cover
Rob Levin Associate Editor
Jamie S. Rich Editor
Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger

Our cover shows Batman being pursued by Bane and the Flashpoint Batman (who was Bruce's father, Thomas). It's a pretty decent cover with nice lighting and a bit of a shock factor. Batman's pose is a little odd, though. I don't have the variant cover because DC decided to get stingy with those again (so annoying!), but don't worry — we're not missing anything Impulse-related.

This issue tells a strange, psychological story that bounces back and forth between two different timelines. Or is it between reality and fantasy? In one, Bruce's home has been invaded by Bane and Thomas Wayne. In the other, Batman is unable to convince anyone that Bane's actions were real. It's quite disorienting. But not as disorienting as Impulse's cameo.

Batman put a red light in the bat signal, which is apparently a distress call to his ever-growing Bat family. Batgirl is the only one to notice this, so she contacts everyone, starting with Tim Drake. Robin is busy fighting a bunch of samurais with Superboy and Impulse, but he is able to quickly meet with five other sidekicks who rushed to Batman's aid.

This, of course, is impossible. Robin, Superboy and Impulse are still stuck on Gemworld. And when they eventually get back to Earth, things are going to be different. Looks like King and Janin were just excited to use Young Justice characters without stopping to check in on the continuity of Young Justice.

So ... maybe we could say Robin wasn't actually fighting samurais with his old friends. Maybe it was a computer simulation, which would explain how he was able to get to Gotham so quickly. Or maybe Batman just dreamed the whole thing up. He was kind of going through a psychotic episode in this issue. In any case, it was an odd scene that should not have been. Let's check out the new ads:

Will this stray be able to find a home on the streets of Gotham City? Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale.

A DC Nation interview with Alex Maleev, artist on Event Leviathan.

Next time, we'll return to the main series with Young Justice #6.